The Economic Survey of Delhi 2025-26 released by the Government of the NCT of Delhi describes the changes and progress in Delhi’s economy — in the same way as the annual Economic Survey released by the Union Ministry of Finance before the Union Budget describes the state of the nation’s economy.

The Delhi government will present the Budget for the coming financial year on Tuesday.

According to the Survey, Delhi’s nominal Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), which is a marker of the total economic output in the state, is expected to be Rs 13.3 lakh crore — a growth of 9.42% over the previous financial year.

The nominal GDP growth rate, which essentially describes the change in the size of the economy in current day prices, is both higher than the national average of 8% for the current financial year and better than the nominal growth rate registered under the last year of the previous government (8.9% in 2024-25).

However, nominal GDP growth rate is far slower than what has been the norm over the past decade (Table 1). Weak nominal GDP growth rate is the most important factor in Budget-making because it is the nominal economic output and its growth rate that determine the government’s revenue prospects.

However, the growth rate that is most often used when comparing one state’s growth to another’s, as well as one year’s performance with the past, is the real growth rate — that is, after taking away the effect of inflation. This is pegged at 8.53% — better than most earlier years.

The reason for this is the reduced level of inflation in the previous year, especially when compared to higher inflation in the post-Covid years. As Table 2 shows, retail inflation — measured by the Consumer Price Index — in Delhi was lower than even the national average in every month of 2025.

Another key metric is the income of the average Delhiite. This is calculated by dividing the total nominal GDP by population. According to the Survey, per capita income in Delhi at current prices during 2025-26 is estimated at Rs 5,31,610 — a growth of 7.92% over the previous year.

That nominal per capita income has grown slower than the overall nominal GDP implies that Delhi’s population growth has outstripped the growth in its nominal GDP in the current financial year. But at Rs 5.32 lakh annum, Delhi’s average income is more than double the national average.

However, it must be noted that the GSDP and per capita income figures are based on the previous GDP base year, 2011-12. India’s national income accounting adopted a new base year of 2022-23 in February, and that resulted in India’s overall economic output being marked down by around 4%.

In other words, India’s overall economy was not as large as it was estimated in the older data series. In time, when Delhi’s economic output data is aligned to the new series, changes can be expected in these growth estimates.